Khattar urges municipal bodies to hold formal House sessions like Parliament
Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar today called for urban local bodies (ULBs) to conduct their proceedings in a structured format, similar to sessions of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. He said such practices would promote transparency, accountability and better urban governance.
“Similar to the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, urban local bodies should also conduct formal House sessions, chaired by a person elected in the manner of the Speaker. This would help establish a more transparent and accountable system of governance,” Khattar said.
He was addressing the national conference of chairpersons of urban Local bodies, which he chaired in Gurugram.
Khattar highlighted that this was the first time such a large-scale national conference of urban local body representatives had been held. He described the event as a milestone in capacity building for urban governance, adding that similar forums should be regularly organised to share best practices and challenges.
He also emphasised the importance of leveraging digital platforms for wider participation, enabling broader public engagement in decision-making processes.
“Wider engagement will empower more people to contribute and help transform the face of our cities,” he said.
Haryana Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Dr Krishan Lal Midha, also present at the event, stressed the need to go beyond the idea of ‘smart cities’.
“Representatives of urban local bodies should strive to make their cities not just smart, but also capable, inclusive and sustainable so that the vision of a ‘Developed India’ becomes not just a goal, but a ground reality,” he said.
Echoing this sentiment, Madhya Pradesh Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya called for greater public involvement in civic planning.
“Public participation in urban local bodies must be transformed into a mass movement,” Vijayvargiya said.
Khattar underlined the importance of environmental protection alongside urban development, calling for cities to adopt e-mobility and sustainable traffic solutions.
He cited India’s progress in expanding metro rail networks, noting the country’s impressive rise since the first metro launch in 2002.
“While metro rail services began much later in India compared to the US, where metros have existed for over 150 years, we now have metro networks spanning 1,000 kilometres across 21 cities — comparable to the US network,” he said.
He said there are ambitious plans for further expansion, supported by the Centre’s Urban Challenge Fund, under which Rs 1 lakh crore has been allocated for redevelopment projects.
Haryana Tribune